Ohio State nav bar

Skip to main content

The Ohio State University

  • Help
  • BuckeyeLink
  • Map
  • Find People
  • Webmail
  • Search Ohio State
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
EHE Distance Education and Learning Design
EHE The Center for Digital Learning and Innovation
  • Home
    • What We Do
    • Services
    • Meet the Team
  • Resources
        • Carmen Resources

        • Online Teaching

        • Multimedia for Learning

        • Learner Resource Hub

  • eLearning Tools
  • Distance Curriculum Process
You are here: Home / Online Teaching / Designing Authentic Learning Experiences

Designing Authentic Learning Experiences

What is Authenticity?

According to Grabinger and Dunlap (1995), for a learning experience to be authentic, it must have “as much fidelity as possible to what students will encounter outside of school in terms of tools, complexity, cognitive functioning, and interactions with people. Therefore, creating an authentic learning context requires more than just presenting students with realistic problems or situations – it also means that students must address the problems or situations realistically as well.”

What are the Problems?

Designing authentic learning experiences for students means you must first identify the problems you and other practitioners in your field are trying to solve as well as how you and your peers are trying to solve the problems.

  • What are some of the problems your discipline is trying to solve?
  • What are some of the tools, methodologies, and/or frameworks practitioners in your discipline use to try to solve these problems?

What Are the Design Principles of an Authentic Learning Experience?

The following principles help to form a more authentic experience for learners. They are:

  • Real-world relevance
  • Ill-defined problems
  • Sustained investigations
  • Multiple sources and perspectives
  • Collaboration
  • Reflection (metacognition)
  • Interdisciplinary perspectives
  • Integrated assessments
  • Polished products
  • Multiple interpretations and outcomes

Authentic Learning Experiences in the Wild

Knowlton students win national planning award for autism project

Digital Design Project at Davidson College

Towards More Authentic Assessments in Large Classes

Group projects can offer several affordances, including transforming a large class into smaller communities, supporting peer-to-peer instruction, and reducing the volume of teacher-produced feedback.

If a multiple-choice exam is a sensible fit for your discipline, consider asking students to create and critique assessment questions.

Resources:

  • Adobe Spark
  • Creative Cloud for Higher Education

References

Grabinger, R.S., & Dunlap, J.C. Rich environments for active learning: A definition. Research in Learning Technology, 3(2), 5-34.

Reilly, A.L., & Denny, P. (2010). Constructive evaluation: A pedagogy of student‐contributed assessment. Computer Science Education, 20(2), 145‐167. 

Primary Sidebar

Go to Course Design Series

Course Design Series

  • 1. What is Course Design?
  • 2. Backward Design
  • 3. Learning Objectives
  • 4. Alignment Mapping
  • 5. Getting Started in Canvas
    • Forum Courses
    • Copy Modules in CarmenCanvas
    • Assignments in CarmenCanvas
    • Gradebook in CarmenCanvas
    • Discussions in CarmenCanvas
    • Announcements and Inbox in CarmenCanvas
    • Carmen Common Sense
  • 6. Develop Community through Presence
    • Creating Presence Online: Community of Inquiry
      • Teaching Presence
  • 7. Multimedia for Learning in Course Design
  • 8. Review Course and Delivery

Explore Related Resources

  • Activities & Assignments
  • EHE Standard 4: Effective Assessment
  • Learner-Centric
  • Motivate & Engage
  • Online Teaching

Additional Resources

Newsletter Archive

Work with Our Team

Footer

Contact Us

Distance Education and Learning Design 
065 Arps Hall
1945 N. High St.
EHE-DistanceEd@osu.edu
Office of Information Technology
065 Arps Hall
1945 N. High St.
614-247-TECH (8324)
ehe-servicedesk@osu.edu

Meet With Us

Request a Consultation

View all Services

College of Education and Human Ecology

© 2025 EHE Distance Education and Learning Design | The Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology | Privacy Policy.

If you have a disability and experience difficulty accessing this site, please contact us for assistance via email at EHE-Accessibility@osu.edu.